Draycombe

What we do

Loft conversions

Dormer, hip-to-gable and rooflight conversions, drawn to the ridge height you actually have.

The first question is never what you want up there, it is how much headroom exists over the staircase once the new floor is in. We measure it before we draw anything. If the answer is that the ridge is too low for a usable room, you will hear it on the first visit rather than after a set of drawings you have paid for.

01

A visit and a tape measure

An hour at the house. We measure the ridge, the stair, and the ceiling joists, and we tell you on the day whether the room you are imagining exists.

02

The measured survey

Everything recorded properly and drawn up as existing. This is the drawing every later decision is checked against.

03

Design and route

Two or three options drawn, and the planning route named: permitted development, prior approval or full application. The route changes the programme more than the design does.

04

Structure and building control

Steel sizes calculated by our engineer, drawings submitted, the building control route agreed before anyone lifts a tile.

05

Build

Eight to twelve weeks for a typical dormer conversion. One team, on your job, until it is finished.

Asked often

Will I need planning permission?
Often not. Most loft conversions fall under permitted development, which allows 40 cubic metres of additional roof volume on a terraced house and 50 on a semi or detached, provided nothing extends beyond the existing roof plane on the principal elevation. Conservation areas and previously extended houses are the common exceptions, and we establish which applies at the survey rather than at the application.
How much headroom do I actually need?
The usable rule is 2.2 metres from the top of the new floor to the underside of the ridge, measured over the position the staircase will land. Lower than that and you can still build something, but it is a store rather than a bedroom, and we would rather say so before you are emotionally committed to it.
What is a party wall notice?
If the work affects a wall you share with a neighbour, and a loft conversion almost always does, you must serve notice on them two months before work starts. It is a formality in most cases and a genuine delay in a few. We serve it as part of the job and we start the clock early for that reason.
How long does it take?
Eight to twelve weeks on site for a typical dormer conversion, plus the design and approvals before it. The approvals are the variable, which is why we name the planning route at the survey rather than guessing at it.

Rear extensions

Single and double storey, through the planning route the site actually allows.

Drawings and structure

Measured survey, planning drawings, structural calculations, building control.

The build

One team on one job at a time, one written programme, and one person who answers the phone when you ring about it.
Book the measure
Demo build by Etari Digitals